Star Trek: Tactical Assault Interview
Recently Bethesda announced they'll be publishing new titles based
on the Star Trek license - Star Trek: Legends for PC/Xbox 360, and Star
Trek:Tactical Assault for the DS and PSP. We managed to wrangle a few
minutes of time with the Senior Producer of the development team, Corey
Nelson. Here's what he has to say about the upcoming Star Trek:
Tactical Assault for handhelds.
Q: Tactical Assault is set to release on both handheld (DS
& PSP) versions this fall, is there one core team working on both,
or a team for each title? Are they developing for one handheld, then
porting the game over to take advantage of each system's enhanced
features?
A: The two products are being developed by the same core team. We
certainly have some team members that are focusing on one platform vs
the other, but the product is really being developed so that gameplay
is pretty consistent between the two platforms. The places that the
game will differ will be almost entirely in cases where it makes sense
to take advantage of one system's capabilities over the other.
Q: We've heard that the team from Quicksilver is heading up
the charge to develop the game, does this mean it will be more like the
sim-like Star Fleet Command games they developed? Or will Tactical
Assault be more action-oriented?
A: We'll be somewhat of a cross between the two actually. Starfleet
Command was a great game but its complexity lead to a large learning
curve and a control scheme that just doesn't carry over very well to a
handheld. Our gameplay is definitely more action-oriented, but we're
keeping the Star Trek cannon of being able to transfer emergency power
to shields as well as charging weapons, etc. Where I believe the game
will shine however, is the missions. When the player goes through the
campaign, things like scanning systems, warping to new sectors, and
working through diplomatic options will actually matter within the
confines of the mission since most of the missions will have several
different ways they can be completed. A lot of players will go into
this game just destroying any enemy in their path where some will find
it's much more effective to investigate the issue at hand and try to
find a different solution.
Q: Since the two handhelds offer different features, how
will Tactical Assault take advantage of each? For example, will the
touchscreen on the DS be used as a quick-access panel to raise shields,
charge phasers, etc?
A: On the PSP, the advantages will be mostly visual with better
effects and movies within the user interface. On the DS, we're taking
advantage of the touchscreen to allow the player to control all of the
game functions. The buttons will still be available to the user, but
you will have the option to play entirely from the touchscreen.
Q: What will the storyline be like? Will there be multiple
campaigns, or will players be forced into the side of the Federation
(as most Star Trek themed games tend to do)?
A: You'll be able to play both a Federation and a Klingon campaign
which tend to interact a bit with one another. We're currently doing
some big changes to the campaign storyline so details on the specific
campaigns will need to wait until a later date. We are however working
with several Star Trek writers to make sure it remains true to the
series.
Q: What races will be part of the game? Will the game's
campaign(s) be playable from more than side's perspective? In the Star
Trek universe, each race used specific weaponry and defensive systems,
will these gameplay balancings (if there's such a word!) carry over to
the handheld titles? Any secret weapons like the Hydran Hellbore
torpedo or fusion beam?
A: In campaign mode, you'll be able to play as the Federation or the
Klingons. In skirmish and multiplayer, you'll be able to try your hand
at the Romulans and Gorn. A few other special ships are being
considered, but we'll see how things play out. Right now we're
expecting to have each race use the same specific weaponry that is used
in the films.
Q: Any chances of surprise visits from non-playable races during the game? Maybe some Tholians or Lyrans?
A: Well, the Gorn are around, along with a few possible others
depending on where we can fit them in. We have several on our wish
list, but we'll have to see how it works out.
Q: How about the ship variety? Will each race's fleet be
based on generic classes (ie., everyone has a Heavy Cruiser, Destroyer,
Frigate, etc) or each be specifically designed on a per-race basis? Can
players be customize a ship's load-out? If the Orion Pirates are going
to be in the game, will they keep their special racial features and
ability to mod their ships? One last request - any chance the Klingon
D10 (the "Lone Gray Wolf") will make an appearance?
A: Federation, Klingons, and Romulans will have 5 specific classes
to play with. Also, the player will be able to upgrade his crew and
some ship capabilities as he/she progresses. A good deal of your ships'
abilities won't be available to the player at the start. The player
will need to grow into his/her role as captain and decide how they want
their ship and crew to progress. No plans for the D10 at the moment.
Q: Since hearing about the announcement of the title, we've
been chatting with fellow hardcore Starfleet Battles fans and wondered
just how true to that ruleset Tactical Assault will be. Can you say at
this point how granular the ship control will be?
A: The controls won't be nearly as granular as Starfleet Command.
This was a great bit of debate in the beginning, but ultimately we
decided that trying to handle that level of detail on a handheld would
provide the user with a fairly bad interface.
Q: Regarding multiplayer support, we assume there'll be
local support (such as DS to DS play) but will there be any WiFi
gameplay? We're imagining huge fleet battles here, with Gorns, Feds and
Klingons launching phaser volleys, so please put us in our place and
let us all know..if there's online play, what's the max number of
players going to be? Will there be any campaign support with a central
server either keeping track of tournaments, ladders and/or captured
worlds?
A: Not with this initial release. Our main focus is on single player
so our head to head play will be limited to two players in local play.
If things go well, we'll be raising that number quite a bit with future
releases. As far as advanced multiplayer game types: it's still up in
the air. We won't be allowing you to play the normal campaign game in
multiplayer but I'm still hoping to have a few multiplayer co-op
missions. We'll see how things progress on whether we're able to add
those in.
Q: As Sony's shown with WipeOut Pure for PSP, there's plenty of
room for downloadable content to expand upon a game. With that said,
will Tactical Assault feature any expanded content after launch? Maybe
some extra ship classes, new missions, etc?
A: We won't be handling downloadable content for this version,
although the player will be able to unlock specific ships for skirmish
and multiplayer modes.
Well, that's all we have for you, and we'd like to thank you for
your time and apologize for our Star Fleet Battles obsessiveness. We're
definitely looking forward to the game when it ships.
Source: D
ailyGame